[Expired]Citibank Offering Up To 40,000 ThankYou Points For Opening A Checking Account

This deal is still available, but please read our updated post on this offer.

You should be able to get this bonus even if you weren’t targeted, just call in and request that it be added to your account. You’ll need to have a Citi ThankYou point earning credit card for them to be able to add this to your account though, as always make sure you get a reference number in case of any issues. You can also use the promotional code: WCTERY9FPS, thanks to commentator Chucks for providing this code. 

You enter promotional code here: http://www.offer.citibank.com/, once you click through to the next page if you click Promotion Disclosures you’ll see the terms of the bonus.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: 40,000 ThankYou points
• Availability: Those who received communication, you’ll need to have a ThankYou point earning credit card and be chosen to have received this. [Note: People have reported being able to get the AA bonus in the past without actually receiving the communication, do this at your own risk]
• Direct deposit required: No
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: Yes, unknown amount
• Monthly fees: $10-$30, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: $0
• Expiration date: March 31st, 2015 June 30th, 2015

The Offer

• Receive Citi ThankYou points when you open a Citibank checking account and make at least one qualifying bill pay payment for two consecutive months. The number of points you receive is dependent on the type of account you open:
  • Citigold checking: 40,000 ThankYou points
  • Citibank checking: 20,000 ThankYou points
  • Basic banking: 10,000 ThankYou points

The Fine Print

• Only available to those who have received the targeted communication (although you might be able to call in and request this offer)
• If you received a bonus reward for opening a new Citibank checking account within the past two years you will not be eligible to receive this bonus
• Account must be open and in good standing when the ThankYou points post
• Citi will report to the IRS if the value is over $600, the value of this bonus should be considered a maximum of $400 but if you redeem for AA or UA airfare and have the Citi Prestige card you’d be getting $640 in value which might trigger this being reported to the IRS. In general all bank account bonuses are reported to the IRS, this is a bit more tricky because loyalty points are involved. According to Shanz, Citi does not send out 1099 for the 40k thankyou points offer.

Avoiding Fees

All of the Citibank accounts waive the monthly service fee for the first two months, after that you need to complete set requirements to keep them fee free.

Citigold Account Package $30 Monthly Fee

To avoid the $30 monthly fee you need to complete one of the following:

• $50,000 in combined link deposit or retirement accounts
• $100,000 in all linked deposit, retirement, credit or investment accounts (excluding a first mortgage with citibank)
• $250,000 including linked Citibank mortgages

Citibank account Package $20 Monthly Fee

To avoid the $20 monthly fee you need to have a combined average balance of $15,000 or more

Basic Banking $10 Monthly Fee

Make a direct deposit (the following methods count as direct deposit, click to view) and 1 bill payment each month or keep an average balance of at least $1,500 in the previous calendar month to avoid the monthly fee.

Early Account Termination Fee $0

We couldn’t find any mention of any EATF in the product disclosures and haven’t heard of anybody being hit with a fee. Your account does need to be open for the miles to post though.

Our Verdict

In the past Citi has usually awarded the points 1-3 months after the requirements have been met (although it’s taken as long as six months for some people), this means you’d need to keep the account open for 3-5 months (or even 8 months in bad cases). The first two months are free and then you’d need to pay the monthly fee for another 1-3 months ($30-$90).

If I had received this offer then I probably would complete it, paying ~$90 in monthly fees for 40,000 ThankYou points is a pretty good deal. If Citi does issue a 1099 then this could make this good deal pretty terrible, especially if they assign a high value per point. Citi also offers another checking bonus which is for up to 30,000 American Airline miles, this might be a better option for some of you although the requirements are a bit different.

Citi ThankYou points are worth 1¢ each when redeemed for Gift Cards and can also be transferred to their travel partners which are listed below (rate of 1:1 unless otherwise listed):

If you’re looking for a non targeted offer I suggest checking out the 22,000 mile bank direct offering or simply call Citi & ask if they will extend this offer to you. We also have a full page of suggested cash back sign up bonuses and a full list of all the checking promos currently being offered.

If you’re looking for a non targeted offer I suggest checking out the 22,000 mile bank direct offering. Citi is also offering 50,000 ThankYou points on their Citi Prestige card.

Hat tip to MileCards